Today, Wednesday, March 7. 2012, Kings Trail Elementary in partnership with Danis, and with the assistance of Trad’s Master Gardner, Dave Korlacki planted an American Heart Association Teaching Garden as part of an education initiative to help build healthy bodies and minds. Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals, The Honorable W. C. Gentry, and the Honorable Lori Boyer assisted students with the planting ceremony.

Studies show that healthy behavior positively impacts learning. The goal of the program is to improve children’s health.

Nearly one in three American children is overweight or obese.

American eating habits are leading to modern day “malnutrition,” with diets full of foods that have little nutritional value.

French fries make up one-fourth of children’s vegetable intake and are the most common vegetable. Fruit juice, which may lack important fiber found in whole fruits, accounts for 40 percent of children’s daily fruit intake.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The Teaching Garden Program is part of the American Heart Association’s local effort to dramatically change the way Americans eat and think about food. The program is just one of several strategies the American Heart Association is employing to reach its aggressive Health Impact Goal: to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by the year 2020.

Aimed at elementary school students, the American Heart Association Teaching Garden program provides hands-on learning experiences. It is a real-life laboratory where students learn how to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce and ultimately understand the value of good eating habits. School gardens can serve as a tool to teach nutrition education related to fruits and vegetables. Teaching Gardens encompass a core belief that when you educate a child about nutritional choices, that child will teach his or her family and ultimately pass that knowledge on to others.